The Industrial Revolution was a period where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology
had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. It marks
a major turning point in history when almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way.

Heritage of Industry is the leading specialist in creating
tours which give people the
opportunity to explore the world of Engineering History and Industrial
Archaeology and to discover Enterprise & Innovation over the
Centuries. We use our expertise to open
up areas and sites to anyone who has an interest in this field and,
using our many contacts, are often able to gain
access to places not generally visited by, or indeed not open to,
members of the public or other tour groups.

Tours are researched and led by experts in the field who
provide a wealth of information to tour members many of whom
return time and again to enjoy the experience of travelling
with Heritage of Industry.
We are small, friendly and flexible and have been organising
specialist tours to many parts of the world including the UK, Europe
and further afield for 25 years.

Heritage of Industry would
also like to forge relationships with other societies, in the
UK and abroad, to make our skills available for the benefit of their members.
If you would like to talk to us about a bespoke tour for
your group then get in touch via the
Contact page.

And this is who we are:

Bill Barksfield - Managing DirectorBill was born and raised in the heart of the chairmaking
industry in the Chiltern Hills but graduated in Computer
Science from Brunel University and then spent many years in
the IT business designing and building systems for City
institutions. During that time he also had a long involvement with BCS
The Chartered Institute for IT, organising events for the West London
Branch. Bill's main interests outside
of work are the History of Engineering, Industry, Science &
Technology and travel. He has now left IT
behind and is combining his interests managing Heritage of Industry. He serves on the AIA
Council and is a member of the Newcomen Society, GLIAS, the
Victorian Society, the Inland
Waterways Association, the Cotswold Canals Trust, the
Railway and Canal Historical Society, the
Computer Conservation Society, the Kew Bridge Engines Trust
and the Society for Industrial Archaeology in the United
States. If there's any time left over he
also maintains a website chronicling
the local history of
the village of Frieth.

Sue Constable - Tour Director
Sue was born in Buckinghamshire but moved to Hastings at an early age. She read History and Archaeology at Liverpool and also has a qualification in museum studies.
She may have started out as an archaeologist but soon changed to being a social and industrial historian.
She has worked in museums for most of her life, apart from a spell teaching and a break when her daughter was small.
Much of her work in museums has been with industrial collections, ribbon weaving, nail-making and shoemaking.
With her husband, Mike, she has explored much of the British and European waterways network.
As a social historian she is interested in how people live and how they organise their living spaces and environment.
A mind like a dustbin (clean, of course) and an insatiable curiosity have led to her gathering all sorts of odd facts and she likes to seek out the unusual and the quirky.

Professor Marilyn Palmer
MBEMarilyn read History at St Anne’s College, Oxford, and then
worked in teacher training before joining the History Department
of the University of Loughborough and becoming its Head in 1983.
She transferred to the University of Leicester becoming Head of
the School of Archaeology and Britain’s first Professor of
Industrial Archaeology. She is President of the Association for
Industrial Archaeology and was a Commissioner with The Royal
Commission on the Historical Monuments of England before its
amalgamation with English Heritage. She serves on committees
concerned with her discipline for The National Trust and the
Council for British Archaeology and is the Subject Adviser for
Archaeology for the University of the Third Age, for whom she
runs study days as well as a large Archaeology Group. She was
awarded an Award of Merit by the Society for Historical
Archaeology of the USA in 2005 for her success in integrating
industrial archaeology into mainstream archaeology and then an
MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 2015 "for
services to Industrial Archaeology and Heritage"

Dr Ian West
Ian graduated in Engineering before joining the gas industry. He became a Chartered Engineer and held a number of engineering and senior management posts
before leaving industry to study Industrial Archaeology at Birmingham University’s Ironbridge Institute, where he obtained his MA. He did his Doctoral studies in
the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology, researching the impact of artificial lighting on early factories. He is an honorary visiting fellow at the
University of Leicester and has given numerous papers and lectures on utility industries, domestic technology and other aspects of industrial archaeology.

Paul Saulter -
Founder & Special AdvisorPaul founded Heritage of Industry
(then known as "Cornwall of Mine") in 1989 organising tours
of the mining industry in Cornwall and was chief
executive until the end of 2011 then Chairman until February
2015. He is the immediate past President of
E-FAITH, the European Federation of Associations of
Industrial and Technical Heritage. Paul was born in
Surrey but was brought up in Cornwall, which might account
for his interest in mining! After Truro School, he studied
modern languages at Oxford and after a spell with the
CEGB, became Deputy Head of
the Overseas Division of the British Electrical and Allied
Manufacturers Association, which launched him on his career
in international affairs. He was Director of International
Affairs for the British Chambers of Commerce,
Secretary-General of the British Chamber of Commerce in
France and Chief Executive of the Manchester Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. He was Secretary of the foreign trade
working group of the European mechanical and electrical
engineering trade organisation, a member of the Council of
British Chambers of Commerce in Continental Europe and of
the CBI Export Promotion Committee. He is a member of the
Association for Industrial Archaeology and of Newcomen, the
International Society for the History of Engineering and
Technology, for both of which he has served as Council
member and organised visits abroad.